What's Yours is Mine
by fitzefitcher
Summary: In modern-day Amestris, human transmutation has been accepted and perfected. Homunculi are sold as a miracle medicine, able to cure anything- even cancer. There's just one problem: Hang around one for too long, and you might just lose your soul. AU
1. Just Remember This

Hey. Guess what.

I FINISHED THE FIRST CHAPTERRRRR. (holds out 'r' for another ten minutes)

….RRRRR.

Hahahahahahaha. I'm feeling really giddy right now. Can you tell?

Anyway-

HERE YOU GO.

Oh, and before I forget…

I'm pretty sure that cens are the same as yen. And that 100 yen is about a dollar. That should help a bit.

**What's Yours is Mine**

_**Chapter 1: **__"Just remember this…" (AKA: Don't get raped, Marta.)_

"_Just remember __**this**__, my dear host, if you don't want anything to get complicated later on:_

_What's mine is mine, and what's __**yours**__ is mine."_

She never thought that it would have come to this.

She really didn't. The day began as any other for a Miss Marta Hawkeye- no, that can't be true. Today was her one day off in the entire week, so normally she would've slept in.

But you see, on this day, she did _not _sleep in. Rather than that, she woke up early to be on time for her appointment with the shop down the street. Now, it wasn't _really _an appointment, but she liked to think of it that way in order to actually motivate herself to get up early enough to be "on time" for this so-called appointment. Plus, she had idea of how long this would take, especially if it started getting crowded before she could leave. And that wasn't entirely unlikely, considering that what this shop sold was getting more and popular by the hour.

And do you know what this shop sold?

Homunculi.

Artificial human beings, created to be sold solely as a medicinal means to heal their owner from the inside out, purging them of any disease, any sickness, any marring or tainting of the mind, heart, body, or soul.

Marta gave the mirror one last look, briefly examining her honey blonde, cropped short hair, her army-green serpentine eyes, full, pinkish lips, and her ornate, plum-colored tribal-esque tattoo that stretched from just above her forearm to just below her right eye. She wore simple, practical clothes this day: a rust-red tank top, dark, jean capris, and plain, black sandals. She had a hat she was rather fond of: a black, leather-esque cabbie-boy cap, but seeing as it was a hot day in the middle of the summer, it didn't seem necessary, since it would only make her forehead hot and sweaty.

She stared at the hat in question, which sat on the bed innocently.

…Well… it _was _her favorite…

She took the hat and placed it upon her head, locking the door behind her as she left the house. She lived on the third floor of a house just outside the city of Dublith. It was rented out to her by Pinako Rockbell, a small, feisty old woman, who refused to go into retirement just yet. The woman's granddaughter lived in the household as well (she had only joined them just recently), apparently because her parents had went away on business for an extended period of time, and didn't want her to be by herself.

The house itself was actually a twin, meaning that it was stacked up against the house next to it, without any space in between. The Rockbell's shared their twin with the Hughes's, a friendly, rowdy bunch. There was the dark-haired Mr. Hughes, the rowdiest among them, blond, sweet, and surprisingly demure Mrs. Hughes, and their two kids: Elysia, the younger one, was cute but oddly withdrawn, and Jalil, the older one, was a blonde, blue-eyed little boy, resembling his mother more than he did his father.

Marta did not see any of the Hughes's as she entered her small-but-sleek car. She backed out of the Rockbell's driveway to the street and continued down said street, passing under the shade of the many trees aside the sidewalk as she went. It took her about fifteen minutes to get to the city. She parked about a block away from the shop and exited the car.

The funny thing was, no matter how many times she came to Dublith, whether it was for work or otherwise, the buildings always look as if they grew on and on into the sky, quite literally a 'sky-scraper.' And the people always seemed busy, far too busy to even pause for a brief moment in their work, in their paranoia. Well, that's the way it _used _to be.

Until the shop opened up, that is.

Now the people were much more relaxed and friendly; it was eerie how one by one, they seemed to change overnight.

And it was even more eerie that, as of recently, nearly _everyone_ had a homunculus. It wasn't always like this. Oh, no. It used to be that only the wealthy could afford such a luxury. But everything changed once that shop opened, just over a month ago. Now it was a bit of a fad, or something to that extent, like rushing out to get the latest iPod or cell phone.

This was proved by her walking down to the shop- she didn't even have to look for them; they were all right there. In fact, there, on the street corner ahead of her, was a curly-haired brunette, earphone dangling out of one ear, talking very excitedly to what she assumed was a male, with pallid, grey-looking skin, an angular, elfin face and ears, long black hair which partially obscured his face, and rouge-colored cat-slitted eyes. He replied animatedly, brushing back his shoulder blade-length hair, revealing the ouroburos mark on the tendon between his neck and his left shoulder. Marta didn't need to see that, anyway; as long as you saw the eyes- the bloodthirsty, crimsonine eyes- you could tell that it was a homunculus.

She finally reached the shop, just shy of the girl and her parasite, and finally realized how _small _it was compared to the other buildings. It looked rather out of place too, like it should've been in a small, provincial village, rather than a large, bustling city. The outside walls were very obviously brick, but the red had faded, and ivy had taken over in some places, such as the two poles that held the railing on the front of the porch. A tiny set of stairs trailed out in between these poles, only having three or four steps and about five feet's length to walk back and forth on the steps. There was little space between the house and the buildings which boxed it in, parallel to the street. In this space, lush green grass grew without limit, completely unfazed by the quickly advancing world which surrounded it on all sides. A chain-link fence shielded this grass, and divided this magick home from the rest of the city, all except for the small gate in the center.

Marta crossed the border and walked up the stairs to the front porch, opening the glass door which lay before her. She heard bells chime above her (probably the bells attached to the doorframe above) and someone else did, too, apparently, because someone called "I'll be there in a minute!" She took in her surroundings as she waited. It seemed that she was standing on polished, hardwood floor, and a counter with a smooth, cream-colored top stood a few feet in front of her. A woman appeared behind this counter from the side a moment later, grabbing a few papers from the top of the stack at the opposite end. She walked around to where Marta was, and motioned for her to follow.

"I'm Greenbird, and I'm the proprietor of this shop," she said in a soft, faerie voice. She finally turned and looked at Marta, jade eyes blinking in a way that should've been owlish, but really wasn't because her eyes never opened anymore than halfway. Her short, smooth hair partially obscured her ears and flipped up and outward at the end, conveying several shades of violet and magenta. Marta couldn't tell if it was dyed or not, meaning whoever had done the dye job had done a damn _good _job.

"And for future reference, _no_, that is not my natural hair color," Greenbird said a little more impatiently than intended. "I just dyed the ends a lighter shade." She pushed her apple green oval-shaped shades a little further up the bridge of her nose, possibly to hide her snickering at the look on Marta's face. "Anyway," she continued, adjusting her light, green yukata so that what very little cleavage she had wasn't hanging out. "I need you to fill out these forms before we can get started. You _are_ here to obtain for yourself a homunculus, correct?" She nodded. Greenbird smiled.

"Good. Now, if you'll just take a seat on the sofa…" She gestured to the cream-colored sofa on the other side of the room, one that formed in an L-shape. There was a small coffee table in front of it. "…then you can start these forms." She gave the papers and a pen to Marta, then disappeared behind the counter. She sat on the couch and began to fill out the papers.

_**Please answer **__**all**__** of the following questions honestly. Do not skip any, or you will given a new one and have to it all over again.**_

_**1) Please fill the following blanks.**_

_**Name: **__Marta Hawkeye_

_**Gender: **__Female_

_**Age/Birthday: **__24/ October 21_

_**Sexual Orientation:**_

She gawked at the paper.

"When I said 'answer _all_ the questions,' I meant it!" Greenbird called all but threateningly from some other part of the shop.

_**Sexual Orientation: **__Bi_

_**2) Are you married or in a relationship? If not, do you eventually want to get married?**_

_- No._

_-Eventually, yes._

_**3) Do you have any siblings or children? Do you want any?**_

_One sister, no kids (maybe someday, though)._

_**4) Scenario 1: A person walks by you and drops their wallet. Its contents spill out, and, as it turns out, it's packed with money. What would you do?**_

_Give the guy his wallet, but probably snag a buck or two first._

_**5) Scenario 2: Your best friend gets something you've been wanting a lot for a while now. They brag about it and rub it in your face. What would you do?**_

_I'd tell them to calm down._

_**6) Do you have any diseases or disorders? Any allergies?**_

_No, but I catch colds or flu's easily. I don't really have that good of an immune system._

_**7) Are you on any sort of medication?**_

_No._

_**8) Are you a virgin? If not, when did you lose your virginity? How old were you?**_

_-No._

_-At the senior prom, when I was around 17._

_**9) Scenario 3: You're carrying a bag. While on the way home, a person bumps into you on the sidewalk and makes you drop it. They apologize. What would you do?**_

_I'd be pretty annoyed, but I'd accept their apology._

_**10) Scenario 4: You're at a restaurant. The person who is serving you is flirting with you. They're pretty good-looking. Like, ridiculously good-looking. So good-looking that you caught yourself staring/drooling uncontrollably. What would you do?**_

_I'd be pretty uncomfortable, actually._

_**11) Scenario 5: Someone very close to you has just died. What would you do?**_

_I'd be pretty depressed, but I'd get over it eventually._

_**12) What is the latest time you've slept in? Was there any reason why?**_

_Probably around noon; I'd stayed up way too late the night before._

_**13) When you wake up for work, do you need an alarm? Do you get up right away if it goes off?**_

_I do need an alarm because I get up pretty early, but I'll get up right away._

_**14) Scenario 6: It turns out that the person who died was actually killed. The killer hasn't been caught yet. What would you do?**_

_I'd probably hold a grudge against them, but I'd let the police take care of it._

_**15) When you wake up for work/class, what do you do to get ready? How long do you usually take?**_

_I get up, shower, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, get dressed, put on a little makeup, and go. It takes me about an hour to get to get ready, usually less._

_**16) How much and how often do you usually eat?**_

_I'd say medium-ish portions for meals, with a couple snacks in between._

_**17) Do you recycle?**_

_I try to make it a habit to, but sometimes I forget._

_**18) What is the first thing you remember about your childhood?**_

_This stuffed frog I used to carry around when I was really little; I never let anyone else play with it. I think I still have it, actually._

_**19) What were you like as a child? What were some of your habits?**_

_I was a spoiled little brat until my mom had my sister- then I was an __angry__ spoiled little brat. I never shared all that well, and if anyone touched my stuffed frog I'd beat the tar out of them._

_**20) What was/is your favorite fairy tale?**_

_I dunno, I never really thought about it._

"I'm assuming you're finished," Greenbird said, cutting through her thoughts. She looked down at the packet. Strangely enough, she was right. Marta nodded.

"I'll be taking that, then," she said, a pale, almost translucent hand reaching out with long, spidery fingers to take said packet. She quickly glanced through each page, saying "Y'know, you actually came a little earlier than when we open. You're lucky that I was ready earlier than I thought."

"Erm… Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Have you any experience?"

"Excuse me?"

"This is the oral part of the analysis. Now, do you have any experience with human transmutation?"

"A little bit. Not professionally, mind you."

"Do you know what a homunculus is?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what it does?"

"Yeah."

"Good, good…" Greenbird said absentmindedly. "Now, you said that you had a little experience with human transmutation. Would you care to elaborate on that?" she continued, a little more seriously.

"Well, before I got out of school, the professor of my alchemy class had decided that the class's final exam would be to make a homunculus."

"…Go on."

"We succeeded. It was supposed to go home with the guy who led the experiment- this really pompous, arrogant guy- but it ran away almost immediately." Greenbird chortled. "I think it followed home this really quiet kid that always sat at the very back- he just couldn't get rid of it."

"He wouldn't be able to; once a homunculus has picked its host, there's no changing its mind," explained Greenbird.

"What…?"

"I'll go over it later. Now, you said in the packet that you didn't have a favorite fairytale?"

"Ah, nope. Not really."

"Well, it just so happens that I have a list of fairytales for you to pick from." Marta suddenly noticed that she held a single sheet of paper (where the packet had gone, she had no idea). She handed the list to her. As Marta went through the list, she realized something:

She didn't even know _half_ of these titles.

"'Ricky of the Tuft'? 'Bluebeard'? I've never even heard of these!" she exclaimed out of pure disbelief.

"Well, would you like to hear one?"

"Uh… sure. Go ahead."

"Which one?"

"Bluebeard."

"Alright, then," she replied somewhat cheerfully. She closed her eyes for a second, breathing in.

When she opened them, she was an entirely different person. No longer did she have dreamy, clouded eyes- no, instead she had a serious, scornful gaze which focused upon Marta with an almost terrifying clarity. Gone were the catlike smile and the soft, faerie voice- her mouth now a firm line, and the sound which it produced now resonated with the utmost seriousness.

And yet, it had the same entrancing quality as it always had.

"Once, there was a man," she began. "A rugged, outlandish man from a foreign country that one knew of. He was called 'Bluebeard,' and as his name implied, he had hair the color of an azure sky. He was very rich and powerful, and had had several wives, but no one knew what became of them. Most just assumed that they were so repulsed by him- as most were- they just left him for another.

"Bluebeard, who was getting on in years, wanted to find another wife, someone to take care of his vast wealth when he was gone. So, he made a deal with one of the lesser noblemen of the town: if he could marry one of his two daughters, then the nobleman in return would get half his fortune. The nobleman agreed, but left the actual decision of who would go up to his daughters. Neither of them wanted to go, and neither wanted the other to go.

"Bluebeard, in an effort to make himself appear more likable, decided to invite all the noblemen and their families to his estate, which sat on a cliff overlooking the sea, for a week, in which they did nothing but eat, drink, and be merry."

"So in other words, they had a frat boy party," commented one of Greenbird's assistants who just happened to walk by. Greenbird glared at her. The assistant smiled a nervous half-smile and moved away at an unbelievably fast pace, nearly tripping twice.

"As I was saying," Greenbird continued irritably. "When the party was over, the younger of the two sisters had become rather fond of Bluebeard, despite his ugliness, and decided that she would be the one to marry him.

"After they were married, all was well and good for a little while, but then Bluebeard had to leave quite suddenly.

"'I'll return in seven days,' he said to his new wife. 'Everything in this house is yours, but you must never go into the little closet in the cellar. I forbid you.' And with that, he left. Almost immediately after, nearly all of the younger sister's friends invaded her home. They cooed and squealed and fussed over all of her material possessions: silk, jewels, gold- you name it. The younger sister eventually was caught up in their euphoria, and went around to every room in the house to see what riches they held.

"Eventually, they came to the door of the little closet in the cellar. It, not surprisingly, was locked. But she knew where Bluebeard kept the key, so she went to fetch it. It was small, gold, and shimmering with an eerie light; it was far too small for the keyhole, but somehow it unlocked the door. And inside, lay-"

"Bluebeard's dead wives," interrupted another assistant. His was a subtle smirk.

"Dammit, Clark!!" Greenbird snapped. "BeGell put you up to this, didn't she?!"

"Maybe she did, maybe she didn't," he taunted from under a mop of dark brown hair. Just then, a small, Xingese boy walked by, guiding another client to the back room. 'Clark' suddenly developed an evil glint in his dark eyes, and trailed after the poor boy, paying no mind to Marta and his boss.

Greenbird, finally fed up, cropped her story short.

"Alright, the ending is Bluebeard tried to kill her, but ended up being killed by her brother, who was a dragon. Don't even ask." She rubbed her temples with one hand.

"Um… I think I'll go with _that_ one…" Marta said carefully. "That or Red Riding Hood."

"Alright. Feel free to wander the menagerie- It may take a while."

"To do what? And what _is_ 'the menagerie'?"

Greenbird smiled a little.

"I'm in the midst of deciding which homunculus would be best for you…" She pointed to the somewhat darkened room behind her. "…and _that's_ the menagerie. As I've said before, feel free to browse." Marta got up from the couch, and found that already several people had arrived, and were being tended to by various varied assistants- the adorable, Xingese boy, the dark, slightly sinister Clark, the curly-haired brunette from before (along with her somewhat androgynous parasite), and a few others: a tall, gangly, freckled and bespectacled girl with a manic glint in her mismatched eyes, an even taller, ganglier boy with eyes more mismatched than the girl's, a smallish, squirrelly-looking girl with reddish hair, and a tanned, black-haired tomboy with dyed red bangs. They truly were a varied bunch.

All of them seemed to be leading the clients into the menagerie.

She took a few steps forward, to get a better look.

The menagerie was on a lower level than the rest of the building; you had to step down to step into it. And it seemed that, the farther you went back, the darker it got. Cages stacked on top of each other lined the walls, and made up several rows in between. Seven, to be precise. All were covered in canvas.

And not a single sound was heard from them.

A glass display with an open top sat at the front, with many people gathered around it. Some were cooing and squealing, while others were repulsed at what lay inside. She craned her neck to get a glimpse of whatever it was.

Inside lay black, muck-like infant beings, with demonic eyes of purple and red. They opened their mouths frequently; mouths filled with sharp teeth, but made no sound. They played and behaved as animals in a pet shop would, although there was an intelligent, almost cunning aura about them.

Perturbed, Marta made the mistake of going further back into the darkness, and the mistake of peering into the cages. Inside were much more humanoid, but equally disturbing creatures- they had long, dark, scraggly hair, with bands of crimson branded all over their shrunken bodies, as well as a strange, winged snake symbol. They all recoiled at the sight of her, and retreated to the back of the cage.

By this point, she was utterly terrified by what was all around her, and found herself oddly drawn to the very back of the room, where it was so covered in darkness that she could just barely make out the shapes of seven huge cages, separated from the rest, which lay before her. Three were uncovered and empty. Four were not.

The one in the middle seemed to draw her in. Scared and nervous as she was, her curiosity drew her in closer and closer, until she bent down to see eye to eye with the cage. This one… was strange to say the least. It didn't _look_ different from the other six, but did not repulse her and was actually, in a way, comforting. The cloth on this cage had begun to fall and dangle, leaving part of it unshielded and unprotected. She peered in, and saw another humanoid creature, same as before. This one didn't fear her, however, and she didn't fear it. In fact, it crept closer to her, looking at her with round, lavender eyes. It placed a small, clawed hand on her cheek. The way it held her… it was like it was handling something delicate.

Then its eyes became slitted and catlike in the worst way possible. A strange snarl resonated from the creature.

She pulled back immediately, and turned her back to it so she could run-

_SLAM!_

…but instead was pulled back, her back smashed against the cage and the creature. That _thing_ had nearly ripped her arm out of its socket, and was currently keeping an iron grip on her wrist. Suddenly its other arm whipped out and around her waist, claws digging in to prevent escape. Marta gasped and hissed from the sudden staggering amount of pain coursing through her, but it didn't stop there- the parasite began nibbling at her ear, pausing only once to say this:

"_Mine._"

This, fortunately for Marta, did not go unnoticed for very long. The freckled, bespectacled assistant came around to the back, somehow reading a questionnaire- probably hers (Marta's) - in this extreme lack of light.

"So how're you do- WHAT THE SHIT?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Does it _look_ like I'm okay?" Marta hissed. She let out a disgusted groan as the homunculus proceeded to _lick_ her ear and neck.

"What's going on back there?" came Greenbird's faerie voice.

"A little _help_ would be nice," Marta said loudly.

There was a flurry of movement- most of which Marta couldn't see- but suddenly there was a figure looming over her, and a sudden flash of light, along with a burning hiss-

_"RAAAAAGH!!"_

-and she was free, oh god, she was _free._ She leapt away the _instant_ the parasite relinquished its vice-like grip. It snarled and roared in protest, both hands out and clutching desperately, greedily, at the very spot where she once was. It went on and on, until whom she assumed to be Greenbird held her open palm near its head. What was on her hand… it wasn't a glove, really… there were soot black fingers, and a soot black strip of fabric covering the wrist, but all that was holding this thing together were five red wires, connected from the tip of each finger to the wrist band. It sparked with the blue electricity of alchemy, once in a while striking the somewhat-quieted homunculus (whom had resorted to growling instead).

"Th-thank you…" Marta managed to gasp out.

"Don't thank me just yet," said Greenbird, smiling cheerfully. "I was actually going to recommend _this_ one."

…Marta almost _laughed_ at the clichéd irony of it all. Almost.

"…You're kidding me," she said after an awkward pause.

"No, not at all, Marta," replied Greenbird nonchalantly. Marta missed the brief look of deviousness that Greenbird had displayed for less than an instant.

"I don't _want_ that one!" she protested, pointing at the cage almost accusingly.

"Well, that's too bad," said Greenbird in a mock-sympathy tone. "Because as of two minutes ago, _this_ one became _your_ parasite, and you _his_ host." She leaned on the side of the cage with her elbow.

"Ma… Marta…" She grinned wickedly. She muttered something to the astonished assistant, who nodded and left them.

"Look, it's already learned your name!"

"I'm telling you, I _don't want_ that one!!"

"Oh, do you really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Oh, that's such a shame… because now, even if you get a different one, _this_ one would escape and search for you."

"…what?"

"Look, I already told you- once a homunculus has picked a host, there's no changing its mind. It will cling to you until you die." Marta gawked at her.

"…Are you serious?!"

"Why wouldn't I be? Now, about the matter of-"

"No. I just won't get one, then."

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly. Now, _what did you say?_" Greenbird's voice went from that of a faerie's to that of a cornered scorpion.

"You heard me right. The only reason I'm here is because my sister wanted me to-" Greenbird's sarcastic laugh interrupted her.

"Oh, _please_. Don't _lie_ to yourself like that. If that was honestly the _only_ reason you came here, you would've told me right at the beginning," was her biting comment. "Don't blame someone else for what you, yourself, have done. Take responsibility for what you've gotten into- You said you wanted a homunculus, and now you're getting one whether you like it or not."

Marta was… speechless, to say the least. How could this… this _woman_ have the audacity to-

"_Fine_," she seethed. "But I swear to god, if you-"

"Good. Thank you," interrupted Greenbird once again, back to her cheerful self. "I just _knew_ you'd say yes- you _do_ have a natural curiosity, after all."

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you? How would you even _know_ that?" Marta exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well, for one, you asked how I knew," Greenbird said as-a-matter-of-factly. "And secondly, the fairytales you picked- 'Bluebeard' and 'Little Red Riding Hood'- both have to do with curiosity and greed." Marta looked at her, confused. "In laymen's terms, the moral of the story for 'Bluebeard' is 'curiosity killed the cat,' or something to that extent. Basically, it's saying that curiosity and greediness will be the source of your demise."

"…And for Red Riding Hood?" she asked.

"Rape," she said casually. "That or puberty and the menstrual cycle; at least, that's what Freudian scholars believe…" She trailed off a bit. "Anyway, about the matter of payment-"

"How much _does_ it cost, anyway?"

"Normally," she began, still miffed about being interrupted. Again. "Around several million cens, for a rare one like this. The ones in the front- in the display case- are around a thousand, depending if you haggle or not…." Marta just stared. "Hey, don't give me that look- that's pretty good compared to other places."

"But…" she continued. "I'm willing to make a deal with you."

"I'm listening." She grinned.

"Well, it just so happens that I need more information on this one. But, without a host, one can't really explore its true nature." She shrugged while saying this. "And this one never had a host long enough for me to unlock its true potential. He's gone through at _least_ fifteen. _Such_ a pity, really…"

"Get to the point," Marta snapped testily.

"Fine, fine. _So impatient!_" She teased. "Here is my proposal: I would like to put hidden cameras throughout your living quarters, in order to observe it and gather more information. In exchange, you'll get the homunculus with paying a single cent. Now, I won't put any in the bathrooms, so don't worry about that- but I'm afraid I can't tell you where I'll put them. You knowing exactly where they are might cause suspicion for the homunculus."

"…So if I let you spy on me, I get it for free?" Marta asked doubtfully.

"It won't be _spying_ on you- I'm just going to observe it in its natural state. Besides, it's _completely_ confidential."

"'Confidential' meaning…?"

"Not a soul will know of this except you and I. Do we have a deal?" She held her hand out expectantly.

"…Alright." Marta took her hand, and they shook on it.

"Good," Greenbird affirmed. "Now, I'll need you to sign some release forms…"

"Fine, whatever," said Marta, who was really getting sick of this. Just then, the assistant from before, a sheet or two of paper in hand. She offered them to Greenbird.

"Thank you, BeGell," she said sweetly. "Now, could you get the…?"

"You mean the one that's been taking up half the couch in the break room? Sure." BeGell stated flatly. She left almost as quickly as she came. Marta had already signed the forms by the time she had left. Greenbird examined them for a brief moment, before slipping them into her expansive yukata sleeve.

"Could you move a little to the left?" she asked suddenly. Although confused, Marta complied.

"A little more… Right there. Great. Just stay there."

Suddenly Greenbird's entire arm was thrust through her, as if she wasn't there. There was a sickening _squelch_ as she pulled her 'gloved' hand back, and everything seemed to slow down. Marta gazed almost dreamily at the spurting red, glowing substance that was pulled from her. It couldn't have been blood- it seemed too… dense, too _solid_ to be such a thing. Greenbird, taking it all into her one, gloved hand, threw it to the creature, which caught it with the greatest of ease. It ripped off a chunk of it with its sharpened fangs and devoured it in one gulp. Strengthened by it, it forced the lid off of its cage and damn near sprang out of it onto the floor before them. Then, taking what was left of the strange ooze, it consumed it, staining its hands and mouth a very light red. It started to grow and develop at a rapid pace, taking only a minute or two to form into a tall, lean-muscled man with sharp features and an even sharper stare. His pink-purple irises fell upon Marta, and he grinned wickedly. His formerly long, scraggly black hair seemed to have receded into his head, only leaving enough to give him a spiky head of hair. Only a few of the red bands remained; one that stretched and zigzagged from shoulder-to-shoulder, and one on either side of his waist. The ouroburos, the serpentine tattoo, was on the back of his left hand, of which he used to wipe away the remaining slime.

"Oh, and by the way, Marta- his name is Greed."

_**End Chapter**_


	2. It Begins

**What's Yours is Mine**

_**Chapter 2: **__It Begins_

Marta just… stared.

And stared.

And stared.

She stared for a good minute or two, before Greed spoke up in a voice that resonated, but somehow came off as quietly alluring as an incubus. He said but one thing, but this one thing was the straw that broke the camel's back:

"Hey," he said with an air of decadence.

This, coupled with the fact that he was stark naked and Marta's eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, led only to this:

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, YOU FRIGGING _REJECT_," Marta all-but shouted disgustedly. She ripped the canvas off of his cage and threw it at/on him.

She was… immensely disappointed, to say the least.

Greed frowned- correction, _pouted_ at her.

"What kind of reaction is _that_?" he asked he asked, barely speaking above a whisper. He finally decided to wrap the canvas around himself, and stood up. He looked very much like he had just stepped out of the shower, or was about to step in. He turned to Greenbird. "…So how long have I been in there, again?"

"About a year, I'd say. It's been a while," Greenbird remarked casually. She appeared to be examining her nails as she said this. He laughed, an oddly sinister, wicked sound.

"My, my. It _has_ been a while, hasn't it?" he replied.

"What was your record? Five weeks?" she asked vaguely.

"That sounds right," He turned his strangely dulled gaze to Marta. "I'm looking to cut it by five days."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Marta demanded. Greed made an odd sound; it was sort of a half-grunt, half-laugh.

"You mean nobody told you?" Greed asked almost gleefully. "I've killed each and every one of my precious hosts. All seventeen of them." Greenbird suddenly looked as she had just confirmed something.

"I thought it was somewhere around there," she said, nodding once or twice. He walked slowly, carefully, over to Marta, who kept backing up until she hit the wall. He leaned until he was quite literally breathing down her neck.

"And babe," he began, barely even breathing. "You're next." It was then that BeGell took the opportunity to reappear.

"Hey, I brought the box- _Augh wut the hell!?_" she shrieked, damn near leaping out of her skin and nearly dropping the box. Marta became aware that Greed was suddenly halfway across the room. "_Why does this keep happening to me?_" she ranted quietly to herself, slamming down the tremendous box before Greenbird. Marta was fairly sure she heard a "fuck this, I'm leaving," along with a few other things in the midst of the girl's angry musings.

"Be sure to send someone in your place," Greenbird advised. There was a distinct, irritated "fine," and BeGell stormed off.

"…What the hell was that?" Marta asked, breaking the awkward silence. She directed her somewhat furious (only somewhat because the apprentice's burst of rage threw her off a bit) gaze at Greed.

"It's exactly as it sounds, doll," she said, speaking as if he were explaining it to a small child. "In precisely thirty days, I'm going to kill you."

"Greed, could you do me a favor and put on some pants? I'd rather not see that," Greenbird explained, handing him said article of clothing. She had apparently opened and searched the box until she had found them. He dropped the canvas cloth (much to Marta's and Greenbird's chagrin) and put on the worn, loose-but-not-baggy jeans. "And put on this shirt, while you're at it." He did.

"Greenbird, why didn't you warn me about this?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why didn't you _tell_ me that he's killed all his other hosts?" Marta spat.

"I did tell you- I've told you he's gone through at least fifteen, did I not? What did you think the release forms were for?" Greenbird stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Marta fumed and remained silent, just a tiny tint of adorable, frustrated pink showing up on her face. "The point of the release forms was if you were killed by or because of your homunculus, the grieving relatives wouldn't sue us," she continued. "As it's not _our_ fault if _your_ parasite goes on a killing spree," She muttered the last bit rather bitterly, obviously speaking from a previous experience. "It's like suing the pet store because your cat scratched you…" She began to rub her temples again. "Look, the thing is, you knew exactly what you were getting into-"

"What are you talking about?! I had no idea of what I was getting into-"

"Just remember _this_, my dear host, if you don't want anything to get complicated later on," Greed hissed. Marta became aware that her bubble of personal space had just been popped (again). He spoke and looked as if he were murmuring sweet nothings into her ear. She cringed at the mental image. "What's mine is mine, and what's _yours_ is mine."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," she chided scathingly.

"Anyway," Greenbird interrupted, ruining the moment. "I'd just like to say a few more things before you go," she continued, in a nutshell saying 'get the hell out.' "The first is that this box-" She pat said object. "-contains all of Greed's possessions from when he was with his previous hosts. The second is that, should you have _any_ problems…" She eyed Greed warily. "…Any at all, tell us immediately. And by 'us,' I mean either me or one of my many protégée." The tall, gangly boy from before appeared. "Speaking of which, Dover, would you be so kind as to help Miss Marta carry the luggage to her car?" she bribed in an overly sweet melody.

"Sure," Dover replied amiably. He looked suspiciously like David Bowie, she noticed, only with a buzz cut and a small mouth. He picked up the box with little to no effort, and started to walk towards the front. Marta and Greed followed leisurely.

"So you pretty much just sent her to her death," commented the jaded BeGell, whom had returned just in time for Marta to leave. Greenbird gave her one of her infamous mysterious smiles.

"No, no, I have faith in this one," she said, brushing off any doubt BeGell had placed on her. "Besides, they say the eighteenth time's the charm, right?" She laughed in a surprisingly whole and human way, mostly to herself. BeGell looked at her with ever-so-slightly mismatched eyes.

"Yer a freak, y'know that?" she scathed, a light, speedy accent she'd tried to deny forcing its way in.

---

Meanwhile, Marta, Greed, and Dover were already out the door and starting down the block. Dover seemed to exist on a different plane, in a world of his own. He came back from this world to say this:

"She yelled at you, didn't she?" His voice was that of a pool of water, rippling smoothly, slowly, and articulately through his words, although the size and depth of this pool was yet to be seen. It seemed deep, yet somehow shallow, as if his vocal chords were reluctant to go any lower. "…I'm sorry, it's just that both of you seemed kinda frustrated, and she's been known t'do this sort of thing…" He spoke with the same dialect, the same slang that BeGell did, albeit more controlled.

"Do what? Randomly yell at her customers?" Marta asked sarcastically. Dover didn't show any change of emotion whatsoever at this comment, and merely watched with wide, brightened eyes. Both disregarded the random catcalls in the background. One did not, and that one's mouth was drawn up into a slight, sharky grin.

"Well, it's sortof an insult to her," he began to explain with slight hesitation. "When you say you want one 'n then suddenly you change your mind after seeing a lot of them, it's like saying that nothing she's made is good enough for you."

"…I never thought to look at it that way," Marta then had a startling realization. "Wait, did you just say she _made_ all of those-"

"Is this your car?" he interrupted- correction, asked politely. Turns out they had already made it to her car, despite the quickly crowding city streets.

"Yeah," she replied, unlocking it.

"Where should I put the box?"

"Just put it in the backseat- I don't think it'll fit in the trunk." She was right; the box was too big and the trunk too small. So he did, once she unlocked the back door for him. He turned away, back to his post, without as much as a goodbye.

"Thank you," Marta half-called at him rather uselessly.

"Hey," Greed said suddenly. "Some chick's pointing at us."  
"What?" He pointed behind her unabashedly. There was indeed 'some chick' pointing at them. She was of average height and of slightly muscular build, with long, honey blond hair clipped to the back or her head. She seemed to be making her ways towards them, a man of similar height and build following closely behind.

"Hey, Ree. Never expected to see you here," Marta began, a playful smile steadily growing.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," 'Ree' replied, feigning an upset pout. The man behind her, one of dark hair, and dark, vaguely almond-shaped eyes, was flabbergasted. You could tell from the way his jaw was dragging along the ground.

"You never act like that around me…" he whined. Within an instant, 'Ree' was strict, straitlaced, and serious. If there was a transition, it couldn't be seen by the naked eye.

"Of course not. You're not family," she replied, a sharp edge to her words. Marta chuckled a bit. "…I take it this one is yours?" she continued.

"Yep," Marta replied casually.

"So which is he? Sin or virtue?"

"Sin, obviously. He's called 'Greed.'" Ree's eyebrows knit together slightly, loosely.

"Where was he in the store?" she asked cautiously.

"In the very back," she said rather uncaringly.

"…Aren't you a little worried about this? I mean, you got a _cardinal_ sin, for god's sake."

"…And that's a bad thing," Marta turned to Greed, giving him a hard, unforgiving stare. "I _knew_ you were a reject," her mouth spewed harshly. He seemed to have lost control of his normally cool expression; for a quarter of a second, he was infinitely furious, glaring back just as harshly, and grimacing in a way that made one think that one were looking at a very displeased crocodile. Then the reptile was gone, hidden beneath his usual smirk. 'Ree' saw through it almost immediately, and had seen the reptile only moments before.

"…I'm just saying you should probably be a little more concerned about this," she murmured, eyeing Greed warily. "I mean, he's one of the seven deadly sins. Greed is one of the worst sins you could ever commit. Pardon my bluntness, but you'd have to be pretty fucked up to even qualify for a cardinal sin."

"Thank you for that, Riza. Thank you," Marta said with a good deal of sarcasm.

"Marta-" Riza grunted frustratedly. "Look, I don't know about you, but I'd watch out for him. I don't think…"

Greed stopped paying attention at that point, deeming the conversation unimportant, and proceeded to glance about aimlessly. Riza's parasite approached him, his walk an almost lazy saunter.

"So are they always like this?" Greed began casually. The other shrugged.

"Not really. Only when one is worried," he answered. "I'm Desire, by the way."

"In case you weren't listening earlier, I'm Greed," he said with a flourish. "How long has she been your host?" Desire's eyes squinted as he smiled.

"A few months."

"Is she your first host?"

"Yes. Why? Is she yours?" he countered.

"No. Eighteenth," He grinned as he said. Desire, again, was flabbergasted. "Hey, what's with that look? I didn't do anything to you."

"I've always been under the impression that unless something terrible happened, something you couldn't control, you'd stay with your first or second. But _eighteenth_…?"

"What can I say? They don't call me 'Greed' for nothing," he said smugly.

"That isn't something to be proud of, Greed," he warned. "A lust for power- a lust for everything- will kill you in the end."

"That coming from a creature called 'Desire' isn't saying much," Riza interrupted, having caught the last few words. She returned to Marta after a moment, saying "Well, it was nice seeing you, but there's somewhere I have to be."

"I'll see you soon," Marta replied, returning the compliment. They turned once more and parted ways, Marta going one way and Riza the other.

By now the city was swarming with hosts and parasites alike, with multitudes of faces, one indistinguishable from another. The city and everything inside had become a massive, living organism, its blood blurred, fleshy, and red from the engorgement made up of the too-friendly people.

"Augh. Let's get out of here," Marta spat disgustedly. "Before the traffic gets _really_ bad," she added quickly. So they did.

Neither of them noticed the small, frail, sickly-looking wild child following them as they drove home.

They arrived a small while later at the house, just in time to see Mrs. Hughes pull out of the Hughes' driveway. Marta waved at her amiably when she exited her own car.

"Who're you waving at?" Greed asked.

"My neighbor," she said casually.

"_Our_ neighbor," he corrected. Marta frowned slightly- she never did share all that well.

"Fine, _our_ neighbor," she confirmed with the slightest hint of annoyance. "C'mon- it's way too hot to stay outside." Marta was very glad to have brought the hat- keeping her eyes protected from the bright, almost garish sunlight and such. She placed said hat on the coffee table, which sat in the 'living area' of the third floor adjacent to the stairs' balustrade. Greed had followed her and had done the same with the box. She proceeded to open it, and found that everything inside was completely and utterly shredded.

-----

To be completely honest, she wasn't surprised at what happened. She was tricked into doing things all the time, much to her chagrin.

But this was a first, even for Shieszka.

Somehow, she had been tricked into getting two homunculi. (Was that even _allowed?_)

She now had two more mouths to feed, and, along with the hospital bills of her ailing mother, had no way of paying for them. However, it was partially her fault. Only partially, though.

The day began with such promise- she woke up motivated and ready for anything. She woke with the purpose of purchasing a homunculus from the boutique 'Pandora's Box' (located in scenic Dublith). Now, the goal was to get one so she would have someone to rely on to watch the house and her mother while she got a job- and kept it. That's not exactly what she got, but… her hopes weren't crushed just yet.

Everything seemed a little brighter that day- a little happier. Hell, even Dublith's horrific afternoon traffic wasn't bad- and that's saying something. Granted, she probably should've taken all that as a bad omen (seeing as generally she had terrible luck), but that didn't stop her from proudly strolling into that shop. And it certainly didn't stop her from picking up a form from the counter and confidently answering every question (which she was finishing up just about now).

_**20) What was/is your favorite fairy tale?**_

_I don't know; I know so many that it's hard to choose. If I had to pick, it would probably be Jack and the Beanstalk._

She finished dotting the end of her sentence, and gave it to the assistant that had helped her.

"All done?" she (the assistant) asked speedily.

"Yes, I'm finished," Shieszka replied cheerfully.

"I'm gunna hafta evaluate yours along with a few others, so I won't be back for a while. But you k'n still call me, okay? J'st ask for BeGell at the front desk," 'BeGell' said, beginning to ramble. She seemed to be painfully conscious of this, and hurried off with a half-mumbled 'see you later.' Shieszka brushed this off quickly and decided to have a look around- she wasn't going to back for a while, after all.

She only made it as far as the display case; the gloom which lay beyond was a little too unsettling for her. Still, there was something intriguing about it… something akin to sleeping beauty and her spinning wheel.

The children of the gate in the display case were very much the same, only not nearly as terrifying. _They're kind of cute, actually…_ Shieszka thought as she played with one. She was petting it, really, but this one in particular seemed to be making a game out of dodging her hand (which was just about its size). However, when she heard a sort of strained grunt and turned to see what it was, the child became very upset and grabbed a hold of said hand. It had very, very deep crimson irises, ones that spoke of war and misery. Which was very _odd_, she concluded, seeing as this creature had probably never been outside the shop.

Maybe.

But about that groaning…

She turned to see what it was (despite its disapproving cries), and saw a woman struggling to get up from the couch. It soon became apparent to Shieszka that this woman was laden with child. It wasn't by much, but it was just enough to make it difficult for her to move around. It was one of those moments where you stare and debate whether or not to help someone when you really shouldn't even be thinking about it in the first place and just help them. It didn't last long, however.

"Excuse me… Do you need help, ma'am?" she asked timidly. The muck-child had made itself very comfortable on her shoulder. (Wait, when did it climb up there?) She flinched slightly at the tiny, clawed hands that brushed against her neck. The woman, sighing, had long since given up by then, and just as Shieszka went to help her, something bumped into the back of her legs.

"Sorry!!" that something chirped in the cutesy, feminine voice that little boys have. It actually _was_ a little boy, as Shieszka found out when it ran to the woman in front of her. He couldn't have been more than seven or eight, with soft-looking, short, milk-and-honey colored hair. He had a very pleasantly round, cherubic face, with hopeful sky blue eyes and surprisingly pouty lips (surprising because he was always grinning). He was dragging along an even smaller child (a girl) who looked significantly like him. There were a few choice differences, however; the girl had green-blue irises, and the boy had a tan that only came from playing outside all day. The girl was smaller, paler, and seemed to be mildly spooked. Something about her was a bit… off. Something didn't seem right, didn't feel right.

"Jalil," the woman (whom Shieszka now assumed was their mother) tried to say patiently. "You really need to watch where you're going."

"Sorry!!" he said again, more to his mother than to Shieszka.

"It's alright, really," Shieszka confirmed. He didn't seem to hear her.

"I went and gave the fairy lady the paper from the doctor like you told me to!" Jalil cheered, proud of his achievement.

"Jalil, don't call her that," his mother chided lightly.

"Okay, mommy," he responded, sitting down next to her. He immediately seemed very fidgety.

"I think you're allowed to wander over there," Shieszka said hopefully, pointing over towards the rather intimidating shade. Jalil finally acknowledged her presence. He spun around and looked at her excitedly.

"Really?!"

"Yes," she said cheerfully. "But you should probably first ask one of the-"

"Mommy, can I go?!"

"Just don't wander too far," the woman advised. "And take your sister with you. Stay together."

"Okay!!" And, just as quickly as he had come, he flitted off, dragging his rather unwilling sister as he went.

The mother sighed with relief, unconsciously rubbing her growing burden.

"Thank you," she breathed. Shieszka smiled kindly.

"Those kids must be a real handful," she continued offhandedly. "I'm Shieszka, by the way." She held out her hand.

"Gracia," she replied, taking said hand. They shook hands.

"That's a pretty name," Shieszka said without really thinking. Then she tried to sputter out an excuse-

"Thank you," Gracia said honestly.

They only talked for a few minutes or so before one of the aides- the Xingese boy- approached them.

"Um, I finished going through your child's forms," he said rather timidly. He wore a hoodie much too big for him, making him look even smaller than he really was. The sleeves were so baggy and so long that it covered most of his (bronze-colored) hands. His hair was short and slick-oil black, but it still dangled over his dark, almost pupil-less eyes. "We have one picked out for her- all we need is your approval, since you're the parent." There was the barest of accent to his voice. He looked around for the girl.

"I'll go get her," Shieszka offered. Gracia nodded gratefully. Shieszka got up quickly and made a beeline towards the cages. Really, she was too nice. Because now she had to navigate through the dark. All alone.

The homunculus, whom had long since fallen asleep on her shoulder, woke up once she reached the edge of said darkness. How convenient.

It didn't like the dark, though; it emitted an angered, half-whine half-growl when she forced herself to trudge on.

_I'm doing it for the kid_, she thought nervously- almost erratically. _I'm doing it for him, I'm doing it for him, I'm doing it for_- What was that kid's name again?

"Jalil!"

And there he was, his skin glowing eerily in the damn-near pitch black. He standing in front of a huge cage- one of seven separated from the rest, third from the left in the row. Four were very clearly empty. The one he stood in front of was clearly not. She could tell this from the angry-scared growling coming from said cage. And Jalil… He seemed to be fixated on it, despite the fact that he was very clearly terrified. The entirety of his body was _trembling_, for god's sake.

"Jalil," she called again, more gently this time. He whipped around to face her, looking akin to that of a frightened rabbit.

"Sweetie," she tried to say in a calming, friendly manner. "Your mom wants you and your sister to come back now." She glanced around once. "Where is she?"

"She's right there," he said, again fixating on the cage before him. He pointed to the right. The girl was in front of the second cage to the right. She, too, was transfixed by what lay before her.

"Let's get going then," she said, trying to hurry. He just stood there, rooted to the spot.

"I w-want to pet it first," he managed to say. "Before I leave."

"Then just pet it," she, again, hurried. "It won't bite." _Maybe._ He looked distressedly to his sister and back. "Sweetie, it's more scared of you than you are of it-" The creature may or may not have let loose a slightly condescending snicker. "-so you just have to be gentle and show that you're not going to hurt it."

He still looked rather torn. And that creature's snickering really wasn't helping.

"Here, I'll show you," she offered. She knelt down and peered in the cage next to his. The creature in there was either sleeping or dead. (Hopefully the secon- _first_.) It was sprawled out on its stomach on the floor of the cage. It probably wouldn't wake up. She very carefully adjusted the canvas so it wouldn't fall, reached her hand in, and…

…softly stroked the parasite's back. There was a purring just as soft as her touch resonating from said parasite. Jalil regained his confidence at this, and shoved his hand in the cage. The homunculus did not like being pet so roughly and slapped his hand away.

"Ow!!" Jalil squealed, tearing his hand away.

"You have to be nicer," Shieszka advised. "Don't rub it so hard. Just _pet_ it." The creature she was focused on seemed to be enjoying that a little too much. It was, very slowly, starting to _writhe_ with pleasure. It was starting to weird her out a little bit. The one on her shoulder did not approve of this.

"Oh… okay," Jalil confirmed, approaching a little more moderately. The homunculus did not… _mind_ the affection (it stopped growling at least), but it wasn't exactly warming up to him, either. Jalil took this as a positive sign, judging by his widening grin.

"Okay, let's go!" he proclaimed jovially. He was practically skipping over to his sister.

Shieszka found that she couldn't move.

The parasite had, quite literally, leeched onto her hand. It (she?) had turn over onto its back by then, and was dragging said hand down-

"You sure they're back here?"

"Well, Stevie-gee said they were wanderin' back he- JESUS CHRIST, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENNING TO ME."

Shieszka heard a squeal. It startled the creature enough to lose its grip.

"I don't care anymore, Kyuni! You're taking care of this!" the taller one spat disgustedly. The rather squirrelly 'Kyuni' squeaked "Nooooo!" and clung to her arm. Shieszka took the opportunity to escape while the two were squabbling. Jalil, meanwhile, had done the smart thing and grabbed his sister. She was a little reluctant to leave the cage (looking back and slowing down and such), but Jalil overpowered her easily. The smallish one seemed to have won the nonexistent argument.

"Fine, geez! I'll just go get Steve 'n come back!" The tallish one tried her best to look annoyed, but was a little preoccupied with grinning like an idiot (as if she was amused by how odd the situation was).

"Ah- uh- um- uh-" Shieszka stuttered. Kyuni looked over and started to say something, but stopped short, eyes widening to an unrealistic size and staring at a point just over her shoulder. Then, just as quickly as they grew, they shrank and closed, Kyuni rubbing her temples with one hand.

"Oh, this," Shieszka breathed, realizing what she was staring at. "I just-" Then she realized why she was staring at it.

The homunculus on her shoulder had grown at least twice its size since the time it had climbed up her arm. Its eyes had become less mischievous, much more serious, intimidating- but there was a hidden kindness to them.

"How long have you had it?" Kyuni asked, trying her best to hide her annoyance but failing miserably.

"Uh-um…" Shieszka stuttered. She never was that good with people. "About half an hour, I guess?" There was a very loud 'myow.' It seemed to have come from the creature behind her. Kyuni looked decidedly more concerned than annoyed now. Fortunately, BeGell returned with the Xingese boy from before (whom she now assumed to be Steve) right then. And following Steve was Gracia. Jalil immediately ran straight at his parent, his sister managing to slip out of his grasp at the last possible second. She immediately ran to the cage she had been dragged away from.

"Elysia!" the aghast Gracia exclaimed. Elysia stopped and turned for about half a second, giving Gracia the filthiest, most wrathful gaze Shieszka had ever seen as she did so, then continued her sprint at the cage.

And the creature in the cage was just cackling away.

"That's actually the one we recommended for her," Steve said sheepishly. Elysia looked elated.

"Wow, really?" BeGell said. "I always thought that I would get Wrath." Kyuni laughed sarcastically. "Do you want me to do the transfer, Stevie-Gee?"

"Ahm, ok," Steve agreed, slightly downcast as he said this.

"'Cause, you know, Kyuni's a little squeamish, and you haven't been here long, so…" BeGell apologized, trying to come up with a half-reasonable excuse. "I'll get to you in a second," she said without looking at Shieszka. "I'm just saying, you jus' got started so I have a better idea of what I'm doing and I don't want you to get in trouble…"

"It's okay," Steve said amiably. BeGell looked relieved. She turned to Shieszka.

"I'm sorry, but could you hold on another minute?" Her eyes flashed to the creature and back again without missing a beat. "I need t'do something real quick," she continued, turning away. She began looking around the tops of the cages, half-humming, half-muttering to herself.

"Kyuni, she left it around here, right?"

"I think so."

"Ms… Gracia?" Steve guessed. She nodded.

"Yes?"

"Well since your child id going to be prescribed a cardinal sin, we have to extract a small part of her soul to reanimate the homunculus. Cardinal sins advance much, much faster than the lesser ones, but require much more power to be reanimated."

"A jump start," BeGell said helpfully. "Yesss, found it!" She rose from the floor- the joints in her knees cracking very loudly in protest as she did so- and put on the odd 'glove' she had found. She ended up looking like a scarecrow- a very pale, shoddily-jointed scarecrow with short, with wet straw hair and tiny, tan raindrop-stained linen skin. She couldn't hide the somewhat sadistic smirk, although she tried.

"Elysia," she began too sweetly, kneeling down to her level, bones cracking and joints creaking. "You want the little guy in the cage, right?" Her words were too perfect now, too controlled. Elysia nodded spastically, still never saying a word. "Well, if you want him, I'm going to need you to close your eyes and count to ten. And don't stop counting no matter what, okay?" Elysia looked mildly worried, but more determined than anything else. "I'll tell you when to start."

"Ready…?" Elysia closed her eyes. "Set… go."

"One…" BeGell quickly scooped her up-

"Two… three…" –and placed her on the top of a nearby cage-

"Four-" –then proceeding to shove her entire arm through her chest without so much as even flinching, that demented grin never once subsiding-

"F-five… six…" –and rip her hand back out, clutching a slimy, pulsing mass of glowing red almost-solid matter-

"Seven…" She threw it at the parasite Elysia coveted so-

"Eight… nine…" –who grasped out for it, nearly dropping it, and devoured it in a single gulp.

"Ten!" And in one fell swoop, Wrath slammed the lid off his cage and leapt out, landing directly in front of Elysia.

She opened her eyes.

She was pleased, to say the least. She looked as if she got a puppy for Christmas. (A deranged, murderous, _adorable_ puppy.)

Shieszka was the only one who took note of Jalil's pained look. It was a mixture of envy, guilt, and a stubborn determination to keep a straight face. He unconsciously reached for his significant other. His significant other immediately stopped cackling and squeezed his hand comfortingly, like an older brother to a much younger brother. Or maybe it just wanted to devour the black-green muck in the boy's soul called envy. The aides were distracted by another discussion and didn't see this.

"Um," Shieszka started. "Shouldn't-"

"So Kyuni tells me that you were messing around with the cages back here?" BeGell completely cut her off. "Oh, wait." She turned to Steve. "Could you tell Wrath what he has to do, Stevie-Gee? Elysia's his first host."

"Oh, ok," Steve consented.

"Alright, good," she confirmed, turning back to Shieszka. "So anyway…" she started again. "Why is that homunculus on your shoulder?" she asked pointedly.

"Ah- Um- Ah-" Shieszka stuttered.

"Lemme guess. It climbed up there on its own, right?" She gawked at her. "Don't worry about it; that happens all the time. But what I'd _really_ like to know…" She sounded somewhat agitated now. "…is why you were messing around back _here_."  
"Um, I- I was looking for him-" She pointed at Jalil. "-and he wanted to pet one, but-" She sped up a little too quickly. "-hewastooscaredsoIpetonetoshowhimitwasn'tscaryand-"

"I can barely understand a word you just said!" BeGell stated mock-sadly, another demented smile plastered onto her mouth. "But from I've gathered, that thing molested you just 'cos you touched it?"

"Ah… yes." She groaned. "What? What??"

"Y'see… y'can't really have more th'n one parasite at a time. It'd put too much stress on the body of the host." There was a conveniently placed mewl from one of the homunculi in question. "But, since you've already been chosen by two homunculi… aaaagh." Frustrated, she turned to Kyuni. "What should we do, Kyuni? I _think_ she'd approve of this, but I'm still worried about what could happen to the host… I mean, I don't want her to get hurt, but…"

"She's going to, either way," Kyuni stated seriously. "Because it's either they'll fight to get her, or they'll share, but she won't be able to take it." BeGell cocked her head to the side slightly.

"Well, I don't know about _that_," BeGell stated vaguely. She put her left thumb to her lip and gritted her teeth. "Cardinal sins _can_ live off multiple temporary hosts for a short period of time. So Lust could probably mooch off someone else until the little guy's strong enough to support himself somewhat." Then her head snapped up, and her eyes widened and her brow furrowed.

"Dude, if she survives, we could totally get a raise from this," she said seriously, developing a wicked grin. Kyuni's eyes widened. She gasped very audibly with glee, jumping up and down. Shieszka felt a distinct sinking in the pit of her stomach. "We'll just conveniently forget to tell our boss about this." Jalil's other was cackling again.

"Yeah," agreed Kyuni, eyes narrowed with a mischievous smile. Shieszka started backing away slowly. Unfortunately, 'Lust' grabbed a hold of her ankle (she wasn't entirely sure how it was able to do this), making the escape attempt futile.

"Um, Ms. Shieszka…" BeGell said too sweetly. She turned to Kyuni. "It's Shieszka, right?" She nodded. "Alright, good. Anyway." She turned back to Shieszka.

"This is a little unorthodox, but… how would like to have both?"

It was a bit of a delayed reaction.

"Whuh-what?!" Shieszka stuttered. "Is that even allowed?!"

"Of course it is," BeGell defended. "It j'st… doesn'… _happen_ all th' time. Is all." She had already reverted back into her somewhat jumbled native tongue. "But, perhaps if we work out a deal…" And in that next half hour, Shieszka found herself signing a pain waiver eerily similar to the ones handed out at a live concert of Dethklok, and preparing to have something akin to a vital organ ripped from body without so much as one drop of blood being spilled. Peer pressure is a terrible thing. She couldn't even look to the kindly woman that was Gracia for support- she and her children had long since left, having been taken care of by 'Stevie,' as BeGell had called him. She had waved awkwardly over her shoulder as they did.

"Do you want t'do the extraction, Kyuu?" BeGell asked tentatively. Kyun grimaced slightly.

"Eh… no. That's alright." BeGell, again, looked relieved at her reaction.

"Same procedure as before, ma'am," she said half out of anticipation. She popped the bones in her fingers, wrists, and elbows nonchalantly (which was very difficult to do, as that demented grin had come back in the form of a barely restrained giddy smirk). "You don't have to close your eyes though," she continued in an ambiguously sadistic tone. The gloved hand twitched and flexed excitedly.

"N-No, that's okay," Shieszka replied a little shakily. She really needed to get the hell out of here.

BeGell shrugged, her left shoulder going up a little more than her right, the same pattern applying itself to her smirk.

"Alright, suit yourself," she confirmed. Then, faster than two sweaty DDR geeks on heavy mode, BeGell had half her arm rammed through her chest right up to where it connected with the shoulder. Again, she ripped out the stone with the same sadist glee as she had before. Oddly enough, it was a very light-hearted pink rather than a deep-seated red. The homunculus for whom it was intended didn't mind however, and gobbled it up just as quickly as it would if it were the usual sinful crimson. Kyuni's brow furrowed, and BeGell actually looked genuinely concerned.

Lust, however, had taken the opportunity to gently slice a hole through the top of her cage, push out the cut segment, and, as her body was developing into something worthy of her name, seeped out of the newly created escape as sensually as physically possible. Her long black hair stayed the same length, but formed into wavy tresses, flowing down and around her face. She carried weight, but she carried it well, being far from skinny but not overweight.

Also, Shieszka just about had a heart attack at the sight of this. She managed to focus her attention to the red serpent at Lust's collar bone, and not what lay further down than that.

Lust laughed a little; it couldn't be called a giggle because it wasn't nearly innocent enough for that.

"Shield your eyes, Kyun," BeGell said rather apathetically, very blatantly taking in the spectacle before her. "Actually, why don't you get Miss Lust a spare set of clothes from the back?" Kyun was sprinting in the opposite direction by the time she was halfway through her sentence. Unfortunately, this attracted attention from the people crowding near the front, and this led BeGell to the conclusion that they should definitely go through that conveniently placed door that Shieszka hadn't noticed until just then. She also had the smarts to make Lust wear that canvas cloth. This however did not stop her from being uncomfortably close to Shieszka.

It led to a rather small, narrowly spaced, very brightly lit room that was probably supposed to be an office, but it was so unorganized that it didn't seem to be that efficient. Shieszka was horribly reminded of her own home.

"Alrighty, Lust knows what she's doing…" BeGell muttered, as if she was reading off an imaginary list. "…Payment method's all sorted out, so all we need is…" She stopped suddenly, turning to face the not quite human creature entering the door on the other side, a little ways down.

She was a good foot taller than BeGell, which was a feat, seeing as the girl was already taller than Shieszka by a good few inches. Her skin wasn't really skin- it was more of a fuzz or fur type quality, calm sky blue in color. Her kind eyes were a reddish orange, much like the desert sun at dusk, and for some reason, her bottom canine teeth were especially long and distinctly tusk-like. She was lean, but not skinny- she was in tip-top shape from what Shieszka could tell. Her ocean-turquoise hair was cutely short and wild, but clean. She had long, elf-like ears and only had three fingers- including the thumb- on each vaguely calloused hand. She appeared calm and stoic, and seemed to have a calming effect on the previously manic BeGell.

"Oh, good, you've brought the clothes,"

"Yes," the um, 'woman' confirmed gently, her voice a soft alto. Her presence comforted Shieszka somewhat, whom had been getting that pre-rape feeling pretty much since she'd stepped foot in this building. She handed the folded up parcel to Lust, who after saying thank you let the canvas slide off her shoulders and began to dress. Shieszka squealed, closed her eyes, covered them with her hands, and turned the other way, just to be sure. BeGell merely quirked a brow at this, and the woman was unfazed.

"We're right here!!" she squeaked.

"I don't mind," the woman said.

"You wouldn't, Shuuna," the girl said playfully.

"Are you sure I'm not 'Perversion' or 'Denial?'" she joked.

"Why would I be 'Denial?' I already came out of the closet," she joked back, half laughing.

"Halfway, you mean?" the woman continued, smiling slightly.

"I'm right here!!" Shieszka half-shrieked. "I don't need or want to hear this!" Lust and Shuuna laughed an oddly identical, somewhat sadistic laugh, the only difference being that Lust sounded like a hooker and Shuuna a witch. BeGell cocked her head to the side, one eyebrow raised and the other furrowed, into a look of honest puzzlement.

"That really bothers you?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"_Yes_," Shieszka managed to gasp out, exasperated. "Yes, it _does_."

"But… why?" she continued. "I mean, I thought it'd be okay, 'cause y'know, y'got _Lust_, for god's sake. Friggin' _Lust_. As a woman. How are you bothered by this?" She was half laughing by this point.

"_What's that supposed to mean?!_" Shieszka snapped, damn near hysterical and blushing furiously.

"…aren't you bi?" BeGell asked cautiously.

"_No!!_" she practically squeaked.

"Wait… seriously?" she asked again, panicking slightly. "Oh god, I'm so sorry-!" She cut off suddenly, unsure of what to say.

"Don't just automatically assume that!!" Shieszka scolded. BeGell looked as if she wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth shut and bit her bottom lip.

"She said she was sorry," Shuuna defended. Her lips pursed, displeased.

"It was my mistake," she said finally. "I just figured since you have Lust 'n all…" She muttered something about her radar never being wrong.

"Um, c-can I ask you something?" Shieszka asked, stuttering because Lust had resumed being uncomfortably close. The other parasite resumed glaring at it quietly.

"Sure, anything. Well, mostly anything," BeGell offered.

"W-What is that?" She pointed at Shuuna. The one in question put her hands on her hips and quirked her eye brow almost annoyedly.

"How rude…" she muttered.

"That's my homunculus," BeGell said. "They don't always have to look totally human. My little sister's ended up looking like a Pokémon." Shieszka's jaw dropped.

"How…?"

"The homunculus takes on the form that its host will trust or accept most," Shuuna said smartly. "Otherwise, it will take on the form it likes best. Adults' homunculi tend to be more humanoid, and children's tend to take on a more abstract, animal-like form. I _look_ like this because my host has a very vivid imagination." (Or that she played World of Warcraft, but Shieszka felt that now was not the time to comment about that.) Her feathers were still ruffled, apparently.

The parasite which Shieszka now carried tugged at her sleeve. She seemed to get the message.

"We should get going," she said almost apologetically.

"Alright," BeGell replied. "Have fun with your parasite!"

-----

Approximately eight hours after Shieszka left, at about nine PM, a small, scraggly wild-child entered the vicinity of Pandora's Box. It was about five hours ago that BeGell left, and four hours that Kyun and Steve left. The boy had a rather ghostly, cadaverous appearance. He was way too scrawny, and had little to no color to his skin. His messy hair was very lightly tinted a creamy yellow, and his pupil-less eyes were tinted a creamy pink.

The creature entered the shop swiftly and silently. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and the tale of his venture that day.

Approximately six hours after Shieszka left, Marta arrived at home, exhausted.

Greed had dragged her to every god-forsaken store known to man, and made her spend an overly gratuitous amount of time in each one (just to piss her off, she just knew it). In the end, she had been somehow talked into buying enough clothes/CDs/videogames/other (let the imagination run wild with that one) to supply a third world country.

This did not please her, to say the least.

Greed, on the other hand, was very pleased. There wasn't anything more fun than spending someone else's money just for the hell of it. Plus he needed to replace the stuff he'd broken from a previous tantrum.

But we'll get to that later.

Marta was still trying to figure out how she was tricked into spending an ungodly amount of money in one day.

"How the fuck did you manage to find the most expensive…?" she trailed off, seething.

"I have my ways," Greed said smugly.

"You're lucky I don't kick your sorry ass out of here," Marta threatened, dropping a jubilee of plastic bags on the table in her living room.

"Oh, _really?_"

And suddenly he was too close, and suddenly the wall became very intimate. A sort of darkish blue cement mold crept up from the tips of his fingers to his elbow, forming claws on each hand. He held a single dagger-like claw to her throat.

"You should be thankful I haven't _disposed_ of you just yet," he said very quietly, an equally quiet but somehow sinister smile gracing his normally sharp features (they were a bit blurry now- still way too close).

The threat worked for all of five seconds.

Marta, not one to fall for the same trick twice, gave him a hard stare, and said nothing. He released her a second later.

"Only joking," he said, smiling. The strange mold dissipated back into skin. "Only joking."

"Right," she replied swiftly. She was in no mood for such thing, and locked herself in her room soon after.

Greed soon came to the conclusion that he might not break his record this time. But breaking down his new host… completely _trashing_ her oh-so-delicate would definitely be worth it.

This was going to be _fun_.


End file.
